Context-based user interface menu with selectable actions

ABSTRACT

Techniques for better information sharing and control switching in a graphical user interface (GUI) are described. In an example, a computer system determines a user context indicating a likely user interest in applications. Upon a user request for a menu, windows are added to a dynamic area of the menu based on the user context and correspond to the applications. The menu is presented in the GUI and each window be shown in a glanced state to provide quick information about the corresponding application. When the user focus shifts to a window, that window is presented in a focused state to also provide a selectable action that can be performed. Upon a user selection of the window, the window is presented in a selected state to further provide additional performable actions. The window can be pinned to the GUI and user control can automatically switch to another application.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/826,858, filed Mar. 29, 2019, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are the predominant type of interfacesavailable to users for interacting with computer systems. A GUI includesselectable icons to launch applications. Typically, upon a launch of afirst application, the first application is presented in a first window.Upon a launch of a second application, a second window is used and theuser control shifts from the first window to the second one. Inaddition, dynamic content (e.g., interactive media content) presented inthe first window may be paused. If the user desires to interact with thefirst application, additional user input is needed to shift the controlfrom the second window back to the first one.

To illustrate, consider an example of a GUI of a video game systemhosting a video game application and a music streaming application. TheGUI presents a home page that includes a video game icon and a musicstreaming icon. From this home page, a video game player selects thevideo game icon to launch the video game application. Video game contentis then presented in the GUI. To stream music, the video game player mayneed to pause the execution of the video game application, switch backto the home page, and select the music streaming icon. Upon thisselection, the music streaming application is launched and music can beplayed over speakers of the video game system. To resume the video game,the video game player may need to minimize the window of the musicstreaming application, switch back to the home page, expand the windowof the video game application, and un-pause the video game content.

Hence, although a GUI can be an effective user interface, switchingbetween applications may not be seamless and the presentation ofinformation may be limited to an active window. There is a need for animproved GUI that allows better information sharing and controlswitching.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to techniques for betterinformation sharing and control switching in a graphical user interface(GUI). In an example, a computer system presents, on a displaycommunicatively coupled with the computer system, video game content ofa video game application. The computer system also receives, from aninput device communicatively coupled with the computer system, userinput of a video game player. The user input requests a menu. Thecomputer system also presents, on the display and based on an executionof a menu application, the menu in a layer over at least a portion ofthe video game content, the menu comprising a plurality of windows. Theplurality of windows are presented in a glanced state while theexecution of the video game application and the presentation of thevideo game content continue. The plurality of windows include anapplication window and a game window. The application window correspondsto an application on the computer system other than the menu applicationand the video game application and is presented based on a context ofthe video game player. The game window corresponds to the video gameapplication and is presented based on a context of the video gameapplication. The computer system also receives, from the input device, auser interaction with the application menu. The computer system alsopresents, in the layer, the application window in a focused state basedon the user interaction. The computer system also presents, in thelayer, one or more options to perform one or more action on at least oneof content of the application window or the application window while theapplication window is in the focused state. The computer system alsoreceives, from the input device, a user selection of at least an optionof the one or more options while the application window is in thefocused state. The computer system also performs, based on the userselection, the action on the content while the application window ispresented in the layer and while the execution of the video gameapplication and the presentation of the video game content continue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a context-based menu with selectableactions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a computer system that presents a context-based menu,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a context-based selection of windows,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a window in different states, accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of content update based on a context,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area presenting windowsin a first state, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area presenting windowsin a first state and a second state based on user interactions,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area presenting windowsin a second state and a third state based on user interactions,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of performing actions, according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of returning to a menu, according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example flow for presenting a context-based menuwith selectable actions, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example flow for performing an action on window,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example flow for updating a context-based menuupon a user login, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of launching an application module andterminating a menu application, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example flow for launching an application moduleand terminating a menu application, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a hardware system suitable forimplementing a computer system, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, systems and methods for better information sharing andcontrol switching in a graphical user interface (GUI) are described. Inan example, a computer system presents a GUI on a display. Upon anexecution of a first application, first content of the first applicationis presented in the GUI. Upon user input requesting a menu, the menu ispresented in a layer over at least a portion of the first content basedon an execution of a menu application. The menu includes a dynamic areathat presents a plurality of windows and a static area that presentsicons. Each of the windows corresponds to a different application andcan be included in the dynamic menu area based on a context of a user ofthe computer system and/or a context of the first application that isbeing executed. Each of the icons can be preset and can correspond tosystem function of the computer system or to a window of an application.The dynamic menu area shows the windows in a first state, where eachwindow presents content in this state. Upon user interactions with thedynamic menu area, the presentation of the windows can change to asecond state, where a window in the second state and its content areresized and where an action performable on the content can be selected.Upon a user selection of the window in the second state, thepresentation of the window changes to a third state, where the windowsand its content are resized again and where an action performable on thewindow can be further selected. Upon a user selection of the windowaction or the content action, the selected action is performed and usercontrol is automatically switched back to the first application.

To illustrate, consider an example of a video game system. The videogame system can host a menu application, a video game application, amusic streaming application, a video streaming application, a socialmedia application, a chat application, and multiple other applications.A video game player can login to the video game system and a home userinterface is presented thereto on a display. From this interface, thevideo game player can launch the video game application and video gamecontent can be presented on the display. Upon a user button push on avideo game controller, a menu can be presented in a layer at the bottomof the display based on an execution of the menu application. The menuincludes a game window that corresponds to the video game applicationand that presents content based on a context of a game play (e.g.,presents an invitation to a car race tournament when the video gameplayer is playing a car race game and is about to finish a current carerace). The menu also includes a music window that corresponds to themusic streaming application and that presents a music album from a musiclibrary of the video game player. The layer can present the menu in theforeground, while the execution of the video game application and thepresentation of the video game content continue (e.g., the video gamecontent can be continuously updated in the background showing theprogress in the current car race). The windows within the dynamic areaof the menu are shown in a glanced state, providing sufficientinformation to the video game player about the applications (e.g., toperceive the car race invitation and to see a cover of the music album).Upon a user key push on a video game controller, a scroll through thepresented windows is performed, where only one of the windows is shownin a focused state at a time and remaining windows are shown in theglanced state. For instance, upon the user focus (e.g., the user scroll)being on the music window, that window is expanded to show a partiallist of music files and to present a play key. If the play key isselected, the music stream starts, the music is played in thebackground, and the user control automatically switches back to thevideo game content such that the user can continue their game play(e.g., steer the car in the current car race). If the user selects themusic window rather than the play key, the music window is furtherexpanded to show the full list of the music files and to further presentan option to pin the music window to the side of the video game content.Upon a selection of this option, the music window is shown adjacent tothe video game content (e.g., in a small area on the left side of thedisplay, while the video game content is shown on the remaining displayarea to the right). Here also, the user control automatically switchesback to the video game content upon the pinning of the music window.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide several advantages overexisting computer systems and their underlying GUIs. For example, byselecting windows for presentation in a dynamic menu area, relevantapplication information can be surfaced to a user. By presenting thesewindows in different states (e.g., glanced, focused, and selectedstates) based on the user focus, the interactivity of the windows can beaffined to the user focus (e.g., glance, focus, selection). In addition,the execution of any underlying application and the presentation ofcontent of this application may not be interrupted and the user controlcan be automatically switched back to the application. Hence, theoverall GUI allows seamless switching while improving the informationsharing.

In the interest of clarity of explanation, the embodiments may bedescribed in connection with a video game system. However, theembodiments are not limited as such and similarly apply to any othertype of a computer system. Generally, a computer system presents a GUIon a display. The GUI may include a home user interface from whichdifferent applications of the computer system can be launched. Upon alaunch of an application, a window that corresponds to the applicationcan be presented in the GUI. Upon a user request for a menu, acontext-based menu that includes a dynamic area and a static area can bedisplayed over the application's window. Applications of interest can beglanced at, focused, and/or selected from the menu, in addition to theselection of system controls. The menu can be dismissed and the usercontrol can be automatically switched back to the application.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a context-based menu with selectableactions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Asillustrated, a graphical user interface 100 of a computer system (e.g.,a video game system) is presented on a display. The GUI 100 presentsvideo game content 110 of a video game application of the computersystem (e.g., one executed by the video game system) and a menu 120 of amenu application of the computer system (e.g., one executed by the videogame system). The menu 120 can be presented over at least a portion ofthe video game content 110 such that to appear in the foreground of theGUI 100 while the video game content 110 appears in the background ofthe GUI 100. For instance, the menu 120 and the video game content 110are displayed within a menu window and a content window, respectively,where the menu window is shown in a layer that is over the contentwindow and that overlaps with only a portion of the content window.

In an example, the menu 120 can occlude the portion of the video content110 behind it or can have some degree of transparency. Additionally oralternatively, the texturing and/or brightness of the menu 120 and thevideo game content 110 can be set such that the menu 120 appears in theforeground and the video game content 110 appears in the background.

As illustrated, the menu 120 includes a dynamic menu area 130 and astatic menu area 140. The dynamic menu area 130 presents a plurality ofwindows 132A, 132B, . . . , 132K, each of which corresponds to anapplication of the computer system. The static menu area 140 presentsicons 142A, 142B, . . . , 142L, each of which corresponds to a systemfunction (e.g., power on, volume control, etc.) or an application of thecomputer system. For brevity, each of the windows 132A, 132B, . . . ,132K is referred to herein as a window 132 and each of the icons 142A,142B, . . . , 142L is referred to as an icon 142. By containing the twoareas 130 and 140, the menu 120 represents a dashboard that showscontextually relevant features and relevant system functions withoutnecessitating the user to exit their game play.

Generally, a window 132 is added to the dynamic menu area 130 based on acontext of a user of the computer system (e.g., a video game player)and/or a context of an application being executed on the computersystem. A context of the user (user context) generally includes any ofinformation about the user, an account of the user, active backgroundapplications and/or services, and/or applications and/or servicesavailable to the user from the computer system or from other networkenvironment (e.g., from a social media platform). A context of theapplication (application context) generally includes any of informationabout the application, specific content shown by the application, and/ora specific state of the application. For instance, the context of avideo game player can include video game applications, music streamingapplications, video streaming applications, social media feeds that thevideo game player has subscribed to and similar contexts of friends ofthe video game player. The context of a video game application includesthe game title, the game level, a current game frame, an availablelevel, an available game tournament, an available new version of thevideo game application, and/or a sequel of the video game application.

Based on a context, an interest of the user in an application can bedetermined. Accordingly, a window for that application can be added tothe dynamic area 130 of the menu 120. As the context changes over time,the interest of the user can also change, whereby a differentapplication can be identified and added to the dynamic area 130 in lieuof or in addition to a previously added application. In this way, thedynamic area 130 can be dynamically updated over time to reflect themost likely interests of the user.

In comparison, the static menu area 140 may not offer the dynamicity ofthe dynamic menu area 130. Instead, the icons 142 can be preset in thestatic menu area 140 based on system settings and/or user settings. Upona selection of an icon 142, a corresponding window (e.g., for a systemcontrol or for a particular background application) can be presented.The menu 120 can be dismissed while the window is presented, oralternatively, the presentation of the menu 120 persists.

The content, interactivity, and states of the windows 132 are furtherdescribed in connection with the next figures. Generally, upon thepresentation of the menu 120, the execution of the video gameapplication and the presentation of the video game content 110 continue.Meanwhile, user input from an input device (e.g., from a video gamecontroller) can be received and used to interact with the menu 120 inthe dynamic area 130 and/or the static area 140. The dynamic areainteractions allow the user to view windows 132 in different states, andselect and perform actions on the content of the windows 132 or thewindows 132 themselves. The static area interactions allow the user toselect any of the icons 142 to update the system functions (e.g., changethe volume) or launch a preset window for a specific application (e.g.,launch a window for a music streaming application). Once theinteractions end, the menu 120 is dismissed and the user controlautomatically switches to the video game application (e.g., withoutinput of the user explicitly and/or solely requesting the switch).Alternatively, the switch may not be automatic and may necessitate therelevant user input to change the user control back to the video gameapplication. In both cases, user input received from the input devicecan be used to interact with the video game content 110 and/or the videogame application.

In an illustration, a user request is received to present the menu 120and the menu 120 is presented accordingly over the video game content110. Based on the context of the user, an interest of the user in themusic streaming application is determined. Further, based on the contextof the video game application, an interest of the user in a gametournament is determined. Accordingly, the dynamic area 130 includes amusic window (e.g., the first window 132A) corresponding to the musicstreaming application and a game window (e.g., the second window 132B)corresponding to the video game application. The music window may show,in a glanced state, a cover of a music album owned by the user. The gamewindow may show, in the glanced state, an invitation to the gametournament. Upon a user scroll, the user focus on the windows 132 isupdated. In particular, when the user scroll is over the music window,that window is presented in a focused state, while the remaining windowsare presented in the glanced stated. In the focused state, the size ofthe music window and the cover are enlarged and an option is presentedto play the music album. If a user selection to play the music album isreceived, the music streaming starts, the menu 120 is dismissed, and theuser control switches back to the video game application. If a userselection of the music window is received instead, an option to pin themusic window to the display can be presented. Upon performing thepinning, the music window is presented on the display, the menu 120 isdismissed, and the user control switches back to the video gameapplication. If the user scroll continues, the music window is presentedagain in the glanced state. Similar interactivity with the video gameapplication can occur. Here, if the user accepts the invitation to thegame tournament, the video game application is updated to change thegame play to the video game tournament and the video game content 110would show that the video game player is joining the tournament.

Although FIG. 1 describes a window as being presented in a dynamic menuarea or can be launched from an icon in a static menu area, otherpresentations of the window are possible. For instance, user input fromthe input device (e.g., a particular key push) can be associated withthe window. Upon receiving the user input, the window can be presentedin a layer over the video game content 110, without the need to presentthe menu 120.

FIG. 2 illustrates a computer system that presents a context-based menu,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated,the computer system includes a video game console 210, a video gamecontroller 220, and a display 230. Although not shown, the computersystem may also include a backend system, such as a set of cloudservers, that is communicatively coupled with the video game console210. The video game console 210 is communicatively coupled with thevideo game controller 220 (e.g., over a wireless network) and with thedisplay 230 (e.g., over a communications bus). A video game player 222operates the video game controller 220 to interact with the video gameconsole 210. These interactions may include playing a video gamepresented on the display 230, interacting with a menu 212 presented onthe display 230, and interacting with other applications of the videogame console 210.

The video game console 210 includes a processor and a memory (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium) storingcomputer-readable instructions that can be executed by the processor andthat, upon execution by the processor, cause the video game console 210to perform operations relates to various applications. In particular,the computer-readable instructions can correspond to the variousapplications of the video game console 210 including a video gameapplication 240, a music application 242, a video application 244, asocial media application 246, a chat application 248, a menu application250, among other applications of the video game console 210 (e.g., ahome user interface (UI) application that presents a home page on thedisplay 230).

The video game controller 220 is an example of an input device. Othertypes of the input device are possible including, a keyboard, atouchscreen, a touchpad, a mouse, an optical system, or other userdevices suitable for receiving input of a user.

In an example, the menu 212 is a context-based menu similar to the menu130 of FIG. 1 . Upon an execution of the video game application 240, arendering process of the video game console 210 presents video gamecontent (e.g., illustrated as a car race video game content) on thedisplay 230. Upon user input from the video game controller 220 (e.g., auser push of a particular key or button), the rendering process alsopresents the menu 212 based on an execution of the menu application 250.The menu 212 is presented in a layer over the video game content andincludes a dynamic area and a static area. Windows in the dynamic areacorrespond to a subset of the applications of the video game console,where this subset represent applications of interest to the video gameplayer 222 and is determined based on a context of the video game player222 and/or a context of the video game application 240. For instance,given the context of the video game application 240, a game windowcorresponding to the video game application 240 is added to the menu212. Given the context of the video game player 222, the musicapplication 242 and the video application 244 may be of interest, butthe social media application 246 and the chat application 248 may notbe. Hence, a music window corresponding to the music application 242 anda video window corresponding to the video application 244 are added tothe menu 212 (with other application windows corresponding to otherapplications of interest to the video game player 222).

Upon the presentation of the menu 212, the user control changes from thevideo game application 240 to the menu application 250. Upon a receivinguser input from the video game controller 220 requesting interactionswith the menu 212, the menu application 250 supports such interactionsby updating the menu 212 and launching any relevant application in thebackground or foreground. The video game player 222 can exit the menu212 or automatically dismiss the menu 212 upon the launching of anapplication in the background or foreground. Upon the exiting of themenu 212 or the dismissal based on a background application launch, theuser control changes from the menu application 250 to the video gameapplication 240. If a foreground ground application is launched, theuser control changes from the menu application 250 to this applicationinstead. In both cases, further user input that is received from thevideo game controller 220 is used for controlling the relevantapplication and/or for requesting the menu 212 again.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates that the different applications are executedon the video game console 210, the embodiments of the present disclosureare not limited as such. Instead, the applications can be executed onthe backend system (e.g., the cloud servers) and/or their execution canbe distributed between the video game console 210 and the backendsystem.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a context-based selection of windows,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated,based on a user context 320 and an application context 330, a menuapplication 310 includes windows 340 for a dynamic area of a menu. Basedon a user setting 350, the menu application 310 includes icons 360 for astatic area of the menu.

In an example, the user context 320 may be received over an applicationprogramming interface (API) of a context service, where this contextservice may collect contexts of users from different applications of acomputer system or a network environment. The application context 330may be received over an API from an application associated with theapplication context 330 (e.g., a video game context can be received froma corresponding video game application). The user setting 350 may bereceived from a user account or from a configuration file.

The menu application 310 may include a recommendation engine thatrecommends the windows 340 based on the user context 320 and theapplication context 330. The recommendation engine can maintain a listof applications (e.g., running in the background and/or foreground,and/or inactive but available to the user) and can rank the applicationsin potential levels of interest to the user given the user context 320and the application context 330. The top ranked applications (e.g., thetop twenty or some other number) can be recommended and windows 340corresponding to these applications may be presented in the menu.

Although the menu application 310 is described as including therecommendation engine, these two components can be separate. Forinstance, whereas the menu application 310 is hosted on a video gameconsole, the recommendation engine can be hosted as a separateapplication on the video game console or on backend server and an APImay exist between the two components.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a window in different states, accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. Here and in subsequentfigures, an action card is described as an example of a window andcorresponds to an application. Generally, a window represents a GUIobject that can show content and that can support an action performableon the content and/or window. In an example, the action card is aspecific type of the window, where the action card is a container objectfor MicroUX services, and where the action card contains content andactions for a singular concept. Action cards included in a context-basedmenu facilitate immediate and relevant actions based on contexts of whatthe users are engaged with and the relationships of people, content, andservices within a computer environment.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the action card can be presented in one ofmultiple states. Which state is presented depends on the user input, asfurther described in the next figures. One of the states can be aglanced state 410, where the action card provides a glance to the userabout the application. The glance includes relevant information aboutthe action card, where this information should help the user in decidingin taking an action or not. For example, in the glanced state 410, theaction card has a first size, and presents content 412 and a title 414of the content 412 or the action card based on the first size. Toillustrate, an action card for a music application can be presented inthe first state as a rectangle having particular dimensions, showing acover and a title of a music album.

Another state can be a focused state 420, where the action providesrelevant information to the user and one or more options for one or moreactions to be performed (e.g., for one or selectable actions on contentof the application or the action card itself). In other words, theaction card can surface quick actions for the user to select in responseto the user's focus being on the action card. For example, in thefocused state 420, the action card has a second size (which can belarger than the first size), resizes the presentation of the content 412and the title 414 based on the second size, and presents one or moreselectable content actions 422 (e.g., play content, skip content, etc.)and one or more selectable card actions (e.g., move the action card to aposition on the display, resize the action card, pin the action card,present the action card as a picture-in-picture, etc.). Referring backto the music action card illustration, in the focused state 420, themusic cover and album title are enlarged and a play button to play musicfiles of the music album is further presented.

Yet another state can be a selected state 430, where the actioncontinues to provide relevant information to the user in a furtherenlarged presentation format, and provides one or more options for oneor more actions to be performed on the content and/or the action carditself (e.g., for one or selectable actions on content of theapplication or the action card itself). In other words, the action cardbecomes the primary modality for interacting with the MicroUX anddisplays the relevant visual interface. For example, in the selectedstate 430, the action card has a third size (which can be larger thanthe second size), resizes the presentation of the content 412 and thetitle 414 based on the third size, continues the presentation of thecontent action 422, presents additional content 432 of the application,and presents one or more options 434 for one or more content actions andfor one or more card actions 436 that can be performed on the actioncard. Upon a user selection of the option 434, the card actions 436 arepresented and can be selected. Referring back to the music action cardillustration, in the selected state 430, the music cover and album titleare further enlarged and the presentation of the play button continues.Additional music files of the music album are also identified. Theoption 434 provides the choice of pinning the action card to the side ofother content that is being presented on the display (e.g., video gamecontent), presenting the action card as a picture in picture within theother content, or to run the music application (e.g., play the musicalbum) in the background.

In the above states, the content 412, title 414, content action 422, andadditional content 432 can be identified from metadata received from theapplication. Upon performing a card action 436 (e.g., pinning the actioncard), the action card becomes the user interface to the application andcontent can be received from the application and presented at the userinterface (e.g., if a music video clip is to be presented, this clip maybe played in the pinned action card).

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the action card can include a staticpresentation and a dynamic presentation area, each of which can beresized depending on the state. For instance, the title 414 is presentedin the static area, identifies the underlying application associatedwith the action card and does not change with the state. In comparison,the content 412 can be presented in the dynamic area and can changewithin each state and between the states. In particular, the contentitself may be interactive (e.g., a video) and its presentation can byits interactive nature change over time. Additionally or alternatively,the content 412 can also be changed over time depending on the usercontext and/or the application context, as further described inconnection with FIG. 5 .

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of content update based on a context,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, anaction card 510 presents content 512 and a title 514. Whereas the title514 is static, the content 512 can be dynamically updated based on thecontext. For example, the action card 510 can be selected at aparticular time for presentation in a menu based on a current usercontext and/or a current application context. The relevant content giventhe current context and/or current application context can also beselected and presented in the action card 510. At a subsequent time, thecurrent context and/or current application context may have changed(illustrated in the context update 520). Accordingly, if the action card510 is still presented in the menu at this subsequent time, its contentis updated (illustrated as updated content 516), whereas its title 514remains the same.

To illustrate, consider an example of an action card for a video gameapplication. The action card may present a score, a cred, and earnedachievements of a video game player. At one point in time, theapplication context would indicate a particular score (e.g., fiftypoints) a particular cred (e.g., novice), and a particular achievement(e.g., completed training). Subsequently and as the user progressesthrough the video game, the application context would indicate anupdated score (e.g., ninety points), an updated cred (e.g., aprofession), and an updated achievement (e.g., completed levels onethrough five). Accordingly, the presentation of the action card at thattime would show the updated score, the updated cred, and the updatedachievement.

In another illustration, an action card corresponds to a social mediaapplication and presents social media posts of friends of the video gameplayer. At one point in time, the user context indicates that twofriends have posted comments on the corresponding social mediaplatforms. Accordingly, the action card presents their comments.Subsequently, the updated user context indicates a new post from a thirdfriend. Accordingly, the content of the action card is updated toinclude the new post.

The actual content of an action card can depend on the metadata providedfrom the underlying application. For a video game application, thecontent can include scores, progress, achievements, statistics of thevideo game players, statistics of other video game players, groupstatistics, available game options (e.g., cars in a car race game),activity of the video game player within the video game (e.g., “you havecompleted level one and are in level two, about to approach your target”informing the user about their progress over a period of time) and otherrelevant game information and options. For a social media application,the content can include posts, responses (including likes), trends,invitations, and other relevant social media information and options.For a music application, the content can include a music title, a musicalbum, artist information, band information, purchase options, and otherrelevant music information. For a video application, the content caninclude a video title, a video frame, an animation of the video, a videotrailer, information about actors, information about the director,purchase options, and other relevant video information.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area 600 presentingwindows in a first state, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The dynamic menu area 600 is an example of the dynamic area130 of the menu 120 of FIG. 1 . As illustrated, the first state is aglanced state.

A computer system, such as a video game system, may host multipleapplications including a video game application, a music application, avideo application, a social media application, a chat application, andmany other applications. Based on a user context and an applicationcontext, a determination is made that the video game application, musicapplication, video application, social media application, and chatapplication are of most interest to the user among the differentapplications of the computer system. Accordingly, a menu application ofthe computer system can include action cards corresponding to theapplications of interest in the dynamic menu area, illustrated as avideo game action card 610, a music action card 620, a video action card630, a social media action card 640, and a chat action card 650.

In an example, the action cards 610-650 are organized in a sequence,where their order in the sequence depends on the level of interest inthe corresponding application. This sequence can be presented in acarousel-like format, with only a predetermined number of action cardsbeing visible in the dynamic menu area 600 at a time, and with remainingaction cards being scrollable into the dynamic menu area 600.

As illustrated, the video game action card 610 is likely of mostinterest to the user, followed by the music action card 620, which isfollowed by the video action card 630, which is followed by the socialmedia card 640, which is followed by the chat action card 650. Thedynamic area 600 is configured to present only three of these cards at atime. Hence, the video game action card 610, music action card 620, andvideo action card 630 are visible and the social media card 640 and chataction card 650 are not visible (shown with the dotted lines). Upon auser scroll to the right (or some other interaction, such as a mouseclick or a touchscreen gesture), the video game action card 610 may nolonger be visible, the music action card 620 and the video action card630 may shift to the left, and the social media action card 640 maybecome visible as the action card on the right of the dynamic menu area600.

Although FIG. 6 illustrates that a single action card can be presentedfor an underlying application, multiple actions cards can be similarlypresented for the same application. Each of such action cards caninclude different content and/or selectable actions. For example, avideo game player can be playing in a multi-player game as a member of agroup challenging another group. One action card presents informationrelated to the video game player (e.g., their scores, progress,achievements, and statistics). Another action card presents similarinformation but related to the video game player's group.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area 700 presentingwindows in a first state and a second state based on user interactions,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The dynamic menuarea 700 is an example of the dynamic area 130 of the menu 120 of FIG. 1. As illustrated, the first state is a glanced state and the secondstate is a focused state. In the interest of clarity, the same actioncards of FIG. 6 are used in the description of FIG. 7 .

When the menu is invoked and the dynamic menu area 700 is presented on adisplay, this menu area 700 shows the video game action card 610, themusic action card 620, and the video action card 630. Only one of thesecards can be shown in the focused state, while the remaining actioncards are shown in the glanced state because the user focus is assumedto be possible on only one action card at a time. At the start of thepresentation of the dynamic menu area 700, the video game action card610 is shown in the focused state because of the likely highest userinterest in this card. Upon a user scroll 710 (or some other userinteraction received from an input device) indicating a change to theuser focus from the video game action card 610 to another action card,the presentation of the video game action card 610 changes to theglanced state and the presentation of the other in-focus action card isupdated to the focused state. For instance, upon the user scroll 710being with the music action card 620 (or any other user interaction withthis card 620), the presentation of the music action card 620 shiftsfrom the glanced state to the focused state. When the user scroll 710(or any other user interaction) reaches the video action card 630, thepresentation of this card 630 similarly shifts from the glanced state tothe focused state and the presentation of the music action card 620reverts to the glanced state. Of course, the user scroll can be in theopposite direction (e.g., from right to left) or can bring additionalaction cards into the dynamic menu area 700.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a dynamic menu area 800 presentingwindows in a second state and a third state based on user interactions,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The dynamic menuarea 800 is an example of the dynamic area 130 of the menu 120 of FIG. 1. As illustrated, the second state is a focused state and the thirdstate is a selected state. In the interest of clarity, the same actioncards of FIG. 6 are used in the description of FIG. 8 .

In this illustration, the music action card 620 is in the focused state,while the video game action card 610 and the video action card 630 arein a glanced state. Upon a user selection 810 of the music action card(e.g., by pressing a specific button or key on the input device), thedynamic menu area 800 is updated to present the music action card 620 inthe selected state. In the selected state, the presentation of the musicaction card 620 includes an option 820 selectable for performing anaction on the music action card 620.

Upon a user selection 830 of the option 820 (e.g., by pressing aspecific button or key on the input device), the dynamic menu area 800is updated to present selectable actions 840 that can be performed onthe music action card 620. These actions include, for instance, pinningthe music action card to the side, presenting the music card 620 as apicture-in-picture, and launching the application in the background,among other possible actions (e.g., removing the music action card 620from the dynamic menu area 800).

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of performing actions, according toembodiments of the present disclosure. Two actions are illustrated: apicture-in-picture action 910 and a pin-to-side action 950. Any of thetwo actions 910 and 950 can be performed upon a user selection under thecard actions 840 of FIG. 8 and are illustrated in connection with themusic application in the interest of clarity of explanation.

In this example, a GUI 980 presents video game content 990. Upon a userselection of the picture-in-picture action 910, a music action card 920is pinned within the video game content 990 and appears as an overlaywindow that presents picture-in-picture content of the musicapplication. For instance, the music action card 920 shows the title ofa music file, a progress bar, and controls for pausing, resuming,skipping, and restarting the music file as a picture in picture. Themusic action card 920 can be the music action card 620 of FIG. 6 (e.g.,driven by the application menu) resized according to any of the states(glanced, focused, or selected) or a different state (e.g., apicture-in-picture state). Alternatively, the music action card 920 canbe an overlay window (e.g., an overlay action card) driven directly bythe music application as further illustrated in connection with FIGS. 14and 15 .

In also this example, a upon a user selection of the pin-to-side action950, a music action card 960 is presented as a pinned window (e.g., apinned action card) to the side of the video game content 990. In thiscase, the video game content 990 may be resized to allow enough adjacentspace for the pinning. Here also, the music action card 960 shows thetitle of the music file, the progress bar, and the controls. The musicaction card 960 can be the music action card 620 of FIG. 6 resizedaccording to any of the states (glanced, focused, or selected) or adifferent state (e.g., a pin-to-side state). Alternatively, the musicaction card 960 can be an overlay window (e.g., an overlay action card)driven directly by the music application as further illustrated inconnection with FIGS. 14 and 15 .

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of returning to a menu, according toembodiments of the present disclosure. Generally, if an action card wasin a focused state or a selected state at the time the menu isdismissed, this action card can be shown in the focused state upon thesubsequent presentation of the menu. In this way, the current user focuscan be directed to the previous user focus. In the interest of clarity,the action cards of FIG. 6 and the dynamic menu area 800 of FIG. 8 areused in the description of FIG. 10 .

As illustrated, a GUI 1010 presents video game content 1020. At a pointin time, the dynamic menu area 800 is presented over the video gamecontent 1020, with the music action card 620 being in the selectedstate. User input 1030 is received from the input device to dismiss themenu. The GUI 1010 is updated to present the video game content 1020only. Additional user input 1040 is received, where this input 1040requests the menu again. In response, the GUI 1010 is updated to presenta dynamic menu area 1060. This dynamic menu area 1060 is the similar tothe dynamic menu area 800 except that it shows the music action card 620in a focused state.

In an example, the menu application tracks and stores the presentationstates of the different action cards. In this way, upon a subsequentpresentation of the menu and if the most current user and applicationcontexts indicate that the same action cards should be presented againin the menu, the menu application can look up the presentation statesand present one of the action cards in the focused state and theremaining ones in the glanced states.

In an example, when action cards are presented again in a menu, one ormore factors can be used to determine the presentation state of each ofthese action cards. These factors include an update to a user context,an updated to an application context, an update to content, and anupdate to a ranking of the action cards relative to the interest of auser. To illustrate, consider the example of the three action cadsillustrated in FIG. 10 : the video game action card 610, the musicaction card 620, and the video action card 630. Upon the menu request1040, these cards are presented again. If the application contexts ofthe music application and video application indicate that there are nochanges, but the application context of the video game applicationindicates a change (e.g., a game tournament that became available.), thevideo game action card 610 may be shown in the focused state, while theother action cards are presented in the glanced state. If the usercontext indicates that a new video title was released and is ofpotential interest to the user, the video action card 630 may bepresented in the focused state, while the other action cards arepresented in the glanced state. Additionally or alternatively, ratherthan using one or more of these factors to set the states, thearrangement of the action within the dynamic menu area 1060 can bere-arranged. For instance, the action card that is of most likelyinterest to the user (e.g., as indicated by any or a combination ofthese factors), may be presented to the left within the dynamic menuarea 1060 (optionally, in the focused state), the action card of nextinterest may be in the middle of the dynamic menu area 1060 (typicallyin the glanced state), and the action card of least interest may be tothe right within the dynamic menu area 1060 (typically in the glancedstate).

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate example flows for using a context-based menu. Theoperations of the flows can be implemented as hardware circuitry and/orstored as computer-readable instructions on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of a computer system, such as a video gamesystem. As implemented, the instructions represent modules that includecircuitry or code executable by a processor(s) of the computer system.The execution of such instructions configures the computer system toperform the specific operations described herein. Each circuitry or codein combination with the processor represents a means for performing arespective operation(s). While the operations are illustrated in aparticular order, it should be understood that no particular order isnecessary and that one or more operations may be omitted, skipped,and/or reordered.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example flow for presenting a context-based menuwith selectable actions, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Generally, this flow may be implemented for overlayingmultiple action cards (or other types of windows) on video game content(or a window of an application) and scrolling through the action cardsto change focus and perform actions.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1102, where the computersystem presents video content of a video game application (e.g., firstcontent of a first application) on a display. The video game applicationcan be executed on the computer system and the video game content can bepresented based on the game play of a user of the computer system (e.g.,a video game player).

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1104, where the computersystem receives user input requesting a menu. For instance, the userinput is received from an input device (e.g., a video game controller)and corresponds to a user push of a key or button on the input device(e.g., a particular video game controller button) or any other type ofinput (e.g., a mouse click). An event may be generated from the userinput indicating a command. The command can be for the presentation ofthe menu. Otherwise, the command can be for other controls (e.g., thedisplay of a home user interface, an exit from the video gameapplication, etc.) depending on the type of the user input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1106, where the computersystem presents the menu, where this menu is a context-based menu thatincludes a plurality of windows (e.g., action cards) displayed in adynamic area of the menu and a plurality of icons displayed in a staticarea of the menu. For instance, the menu is presented in response to thecommand for the menu presentation. In addition, a user context and anapplication context can be determined and used to select particularapplication or remote computing services that are likely of interest tothe user. Each window within the dynamic menu area corresponds to one ofthese applications. The windows can also be presented in a first state(e.g., a glanced state).

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1108, where the computersystem receives a user scroll through the windows within the dynamicmenu area (or any other types of interactions within the dynamic menuarea indicating a focus of the user). The user scroll can be receivedbased on user input from the input device and a relevant event can begenerated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1110, where the computersystem presents a window (e.g., an application window corresponding toone of the applications where the user focus is currently on) in anotherstate (e.g. a second state such as a focused state). For instance, ifthe user scroll is over the window, that window is presented in thefocused state, while the presentation of the remaining windows is in theglanced state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1112, where the computersystem presents an option to perform an action (e.g., a selectableaction) on content of the window (e.g., to play the content). Forinstance, the option is presented when the window is in the focusedstate.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1114, where the computersystem receives a user selection of the option. The user selection canbe received based on user input from the input device and a relevantevent can be generated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1116, where the computersystem performs the action. For instance, the content of the applicationcan be played in the background. In another illustration, if the windowcorresponds to the video game application (e.g., is a game window), thevideo game content can be updated.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1118, where the computersystem changes user control from the menu to the video game content. Forinstance, the presentation of the menu is dismissed, while thepresentation of the content continues in the background and/or the videogame content is updated. User input received subsequently can be used tocontrol the video game application or to request the menu again.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example flow for performing an action on window,according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Generally, this flowmay be implemented for overlaying multiple action cards (or other typesof windows) on video game content (or a window of an application) andscrolling through the action cards to select and perform an action on anaction card, such as by pinning the action card within or next to thevideo game content. The example flow of FIG. 12 includes operations thatare similar to the example flow of FIG. 11 and these two flows can beperformed in conjunction or independent of each other.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1202, where the computersystem presents video content of a video game application (e.g., firstcontent of a first application) on a display. The video game applicationcan be executed on the computer system and the video game content can bepresented based on the game play of a user of the computer system (e.g.,a video game player).

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1204, where the computersystem receives user input requesting a menu. For instance, the userinput is received from an input device (e.g., a video game controller)and corresponds to a user push of a key or button on the input device(e.g., a particular video game controller button) or any other type ofinput (e.g., a mouse click). An event may be generated from the userinput indicating a command. The command can be for the presentation ofthe menu. Otherwise, the command can be for other controls (e.g., thedisplay of a home user interface, an exit from the video gameapplication, etc.) depending on the type of the user input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1206, where the computersystem presents the menu, where this menu is a context-based menu thatincludes a plurality of windows (e.g., action cards) displayed in adynamic area of the menu and a plurality of icons displayed in a staticarea of the menu. For instance, the menu is presented in response to thecommand for the menu presentation. In addition, a user context and anapplication context can be determined and used to select particularapplication or remote computing services that are likely of interest tothe user. Each window within the dynamic menu area corresponds to one ofthese applications. The windows can also be presented in a glancedstate. In one illustration, the window of most likely interest to theuser given the user context and application context can be shown inanother state (e.g., the focused state). In another illustration, if oneof the windows was selected or was in a focused state upon the mostprevious dismissal of the menu, that window can be presented in thefocused state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1208, where the computersystem receives a user scroll through the windows within the dynamicmenu area (or any other types of interactions within the dynamic menuarea indicating a focus of the user). The user scroll can be receivedbased on user input from the input device and a relevant event can begenerated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1210, where the computersystem presents a window (e.g., an application window corresponding toone of the applications where the user focus is currently on) in theother state (e.g. the focused state). For instance, if the user scrollis over the window, that window is presented in the focused state, whilethe presentation of the remaining windows is in the glanced state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1212, where the computersystem receives a user selection of the window. The user selection canbe received based on user input from the input device and while thewindow is presented in the focused state. A relevant event can begenerated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1214, where the computersystem presents the window in a different state (e.g. a selected state).For instance, the window's size is changed from the focused state to theselected state, while the presentation of the remaining windows remainsin the glanced state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1216, where the computersystem presents an option to perform an action (e.g., a selectableaction) on the window (e.g., to pin to side or to show as a picture inpicture). For instance, the option is presented as an icon within thewindow when the window is in the selected state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1218, where the computersystem receives a user selection of the option. The user selection canbe received based on user input from the input device and a relevantevent can be generated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1220, where the computersystem performs the action. For instance, a pin-to-side operation or apicture-in-picture operation are performed on the window or on acorresponding overlay window. If an overlay window is used, the windowmay be dismissed.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1222, where the computersystem changes user control from the menu to the video game content. Forinstance, the presentation of the menu is dismissed, while thepresentation of the content continues in the pinned window or thepicture-in-picture window. User input received subsequently can be usedto control the video game application or to request the menu again. Inan illustration, a subset of the buttons, keys, or gestures on the inputdevice are mapped to and usable for controlling the video gameapplication, while another subset of the buttons, keys, or gestures aremapped to and usable for controlling the pinned window orpicture-in-picture window. In this way, the user can have simultaneouscontrol over both the video game application and the other application(that interfaces with the user through the pinned window orpicture-in-picture window) depending on the buttons on the input device.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example flow for updating a context-based menuupon a user login, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.Generally, this flow may be implemented for presenting an updatedcontext-based menu again upon a new user login to the computer system,following a logout while the context-based menu was on the display. Theexample flow of FIG. 13 can be performed in conjunction or independentof the examples flows of FIGS. 11 and 12 .

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1302, where the computersystem receives a user login. For instance, user credentials arereceived from the input device and are used to login the user to thecomputer system.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1304, where the computersystem presents a home user interface. The home interface may presentdifferent options for selecting and launching applications of thecomputer system.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1306, where the computersystem presents video game content of a video game application (e.g., afirst content of a first application). For instance, user input may bereceived from the input device. The user input may select the video gameapplication. Accordingly, the computer system launches the video gameapplication and presents the video game content.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1308, where the computersystem presents a menu that includes a plurality of windows in a dynamicarea of the window. For instance, user input may be received from theinput device requesting the menu. In response, the computer systempresents the menu over the video game content based on an execution of amenu application.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1310, where the computersystem enters a standby mode. For instance, user input may be receivedfrom the input device requesting a logout or a power standby mode. Inresponse, the computer system may store the game play and theconfiguration of the menu including the states of the different windows,and may enter the standby mode. The stored information may be savedunder a user profile of the user.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1312, where the computersystem receives another user login. For instance, user credentials arereceived from the input device and are used for another login to thecomputer system.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1314, where the computersystem determines whether the user logging in is the same user thatlogged out. For instance, the user name from the received credentialscan be compared to the user profile from the previous login session. Ifa match exists, the computer system determines that it is the same userand operation 1316 follows operation 1314. Otherwise, the computersystem determines that it is not the same user and the computer systemloops back to operation 1304 to present a home user interface.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1316, where the computersystem determines whether to present the video game content. Forinstance, if the last logout occurred while the video game applicationwas executed in the foreground, the computer system determines topresent the video game content and operation 1318 follows operation1316. Otherwise, the computer system determines that the video gamecontent need not be presented and loops back to operation 1304 topresent the home user interface.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1318, where the computersystem presents the menu based on an updated context. Here, the videogame content is presented on the display again. At the last logout, themenu was also presented. Accordingly, the computer system also presentsthe menu over the video game content. However, because the menu iscontext-based and the user context and/or application context may havechanged between the logout and the new login, an update to the menu maybe performed. In particular, given the most up-to-date user context andapplication context, the content of the windows of the menu can bechanged, the order of the windows in the sequence can be changed, and/orsome of the windows may be removed and new windows may be added to themenu.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of launching an application module andterminating a menu application, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, the menu application is used to present amenu that includes a plurality of windows. Upon a selection of one ofthe windows that corresponds to an application, an action can beperformed on the window (e.g., a pin-to-side action or apicture-in-picture action). From that point on, the underlyingapplication, rather than the menu application, would drive the pinnedwindow or picture-in-picture window and the menu application can beterminated or run in the background.

As illustrated, a menu application 1410 supports the presentation of awindow 1420 in a glanced state 1422, a focused state 1424, and aselected state 1426 depending on user input from an input device asexplained herein above. The window 1420 corresponds to an application(referred to herein as an “underlying application” in the interest ofclarity). Metadata of the underlying application may be received by themenu application to populate, by the menu application 1410, the contentand selectable actions on the content in the window 1420 as relevant toeach state (the content and selectable actions are shown as “action cardcomponent 1412”).

In an example, when the window 1420 is added (along with other windowscorresponding to different underlying applications) to the menu, themenu application 1410 also instantiates an application module 1430. Theapplication module 1430 can be a logical container for coordinatedobjects related to a task (e.g., to present an interfacing window) withoptional programming window. The application module 1430 can haveparameters common to the different underlying applications (e.g., commonobjects), whereby it represents a shell from which any of theseapplications can be quickly launched. When the window 1410 is in theglanced state 1422 or the focused state 1424, the menu application 1410does not pass content or application-related information to theapplication module 1430 (this is illustrated in FIG. 14 with blank areaof the application module 1430).

When the window 1420 starts transitioning from the focused state 1424 tothe selected state 1426 in response to a user selection of the window1420, the size, content, and selectable actions of the window 1420 startchanging. The menu application passes information about this changealong with parameters specific of the underlying application (thatcorresponds to the window 1420) to the application module 1430 (e.g.,state information, programming logic, etc.). Accordingly, theapplication module 1430 would have the same action card component 1432as the action card component 1412 presented in the window 1420 duringthe transition to and in the selected state 1426. In addition, theapplication module 1430 corresponds to an instantiation of theunderlying application given the specific parameters of thisapplication.

During the transition and in the selected state 1426, the applicationmodule 1430 supports an overlay window 1440 that has the same size andincludes the same content and actions as the window 1420. A renderingprocess presents the overlay window 1440 over the window 1420, such thatboth windows completely overlap during the transition and in theselected state 1426. Hence, from a user perspective, the user would onlyperceive one window (e.g., the overlay window 1440), while in fact twowindows are presented on top of each other.

Upon the end of the transition or upon user input requesting action, thewindow 1420 may be dismissed (e.g., closed) and the overlay window 1440may be used instead. For instance, a picture-in-picture action 1434 (andsimilarly, a pin-to-side action or other actions) can be selected fromthe overlay window 1440 and performed on the overlay window 1440. Fromthat point, the overlay window 1440 becomes the interface to theunderlying application and the menu application 1410 can be terminated(or run in the background).

FIG. 15 illustrates an example flow for launching an application moduleand terminating a menu application, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The operations of the flow can be implemented ashardware circuitry and/or stored as computer-readable instructions on anon-transitory computer-readable medium of a computer system, such as avideo game system. As implemented, the instructions represent modulesthat include circuitry or code executable by a processor(s) of thecomputer system. The execution of such instructions configures thecomputer system to perform the specific operations described herein.Each circuitry or code in combination with the processor represents ameans for performing a respective operation(s). While the operations areillustrated in a particular order, it should be understood that noparticular order is necessary and that one or more operations may beomitted, skipped, and/or reordered. The example flow of FIG. 15 can beperformed in conjunction or independent of the examples flows of FIGS.11-13 .

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1502, where the computersystem presents video content of a video game application (e.g., firstcontent of a first application) on a display. The video game applicationcan be executed on the computer system and the video game content can bepresented based on the game play of a user of the computer system (e.g.,a video game player).

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1504, where the computersystem receives user input requesting a menu. For instance, the userinput is received from an input device (e.g., a video game controller)and corresponds to a user push of a key or button on the input device(e.g., a particular video game controller button) or any other type ofinput (e.g., a mouse click). An event may be generated from the userinput indicating a command. The command can be for the presentation ofthe menu. Otherwise, the command can be for other controls (e.g., thedisplay of a home user interface, an exit from the video gameapplication, etc.) depending on the type of the user input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1506, where the computersystem presents the menu, where this menu is a context-based menu thatincludes a plurality of windows (e.g., action cards) displayed in adynamic area of the menu and a plurality of icons displayed in a staticarea of the menu. For instance, the menu is presented in response to thecommand for the presentation of the menu. In addition, a user contextand an application context can be determined and used to selectparticular application or remote computing services that are likely ofinterest to the user. Each window within the dynamic menu areacorresponds to one of these applications. The windows can also bepresented in a glanced state. In one illustration, the window of likelymost interest to the user given the user context and application contextcan be shown in another state (e.g., the focused state). In anotherillustration, if one of the windows was selected or was in a focusedstate upon the most previous dismissal of the menu, that window can bepresented in the focused state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1508, where the computersystem instantiates an application module. The application module canhave parameters common to the different applications that correspond tothe windows of the menu.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1510, where the computersystem receives a user scroll through the windows within the dynamicmenu area (or any other types of interactions within the dynamic menuarea indicating a focus of the user). The user scroll can be receivedbased on user input from the input device and a relevant event can begenerated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1512, where the computersystem presents a window (e.g., an application window corresponding toone of the applications where the user focus is currently on) in theother state (e.g. the focused state). For instance, if the user scrollis over the window, that window is presented in the focused state, whilethe presentation of the remaining windows is in the glanced state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1514, where the computersystem receives a user selection of the window. The user selection canbe received based on user input from the input device and while thewindow is presented in the focused state. A relevant event can begenerated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1516, where the computersystem presents the window in a different state (e.g. a selected state).For instance, the window's size is changed from the focused state to theselected state, while the presentation of the remaining windows remainsin the glanced state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1518, where the computersystem updates the application module to include parameters specific tothe corresponding application of the selected window and to present anoverlay window. For instance, the size, content, and actions of thewindow and the state information and programming logic of theapplication are passed to the application window, thereby launching aninstance of the application from the application module, where thisinstance can use the information about the size, content, and actions ofthe window for the presentation of the overlay window.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1520, where the computersystem presents the overlay window. For instance, as the windowtransitions from the focused state to the selected state or once in theselected state, a rendering process also presents the overlay windowover the window.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1522, where the computersystem dismisses the presentation of the window. For instance, upon thepresentation of the overlay window or upon the transition to theselected state, the window is closed. In addition, the menu applicationcan be terminated or can be moved to the background.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1524, where the computersystem presents an option to perform an action (e.g., a selectableaction) on the overlay window (e.g., to pin to side or to show as apicture in picture). For instance, the option is presented as an iconwithin the overlay window upon the transition to the selected state.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1526, where the computersystem receives a user selection of the option. The user selection canbe received based on user input from the input device and a relevantevent can be generated based on this input.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1528, where the computersystem performs the action. For instance, a pin-to-side operation or apicture-in-picture operation are performed on the overlay window,resulting in a pinned window or a picture-in-picture window.

In an example, the flow includes an operation 1530, where the computersystem changes user control from the menu to the video game content. Forinstance, the presentation of the menu is dismissed, while thepresentation of the content continues in the pinned window or thepicture-in-picture window. User input received subsequently can be usedto control the video game application or to request the menu again. Inan illustration, a subset of the buttons, keys, or gestures on the inputdevice are mapped to and usable for controlling the video gameapplication, while another subset of the buttons, keys, or gestures aremapped to and usable for controlling the pinned window orpicture-in-picture window. In this way, the user can have simultaneouscontrol over both the video game application and the other application(that interfaces with the user through the pinned window orpicture-in-picture window) depending on the buttons on the input device.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a hardware system suitable forimplementing a computer system 1600, according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The computer system 1600 represents, for example, avideo game system, a backend set of servers, or other types of acomputer system. The computer system 1600 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 1605 for running software applications and optionally anoperating system. The CPU 1605 may be made up of one or more homogeneousor heterogeneous processing cores. Memory 1610 stores applications anddata for use by the CPU 1605. Storage 1615 provides non-volatile storageand other computer readable media for applications and data and mayinclude fixed disk drives, removable disk drives, flash memory devices,and CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, or other optical storage devices,as well as signal transmission and storage media. User input devices1620 communicate user inputs from one or more users to the computersystem 1600, examples of which may include keyboards, mice, joysticks,touch pads, touch screens, still or video cameras, and/or microphones.Network interface 1625 allows the computer system 1600 to communicatewith other computer systems via an electronic communications network,and may include wired or wireless communication over local area networksand wide area networks such as the Internet. An audio processor 1655 isadapted to generate analog or digital audio output from instructionsand/or data provided by the CPU 1605, memory 1610, and/or storage 1615.The components of computer system 1600, including the CPU 1605, memory1610, data storage 1615, user input devices 1620, network interface1625, and audio processor 1655 are connected via one or more data buses1660.

A graphics subsystem 1630 is further connected with the data bus 1660and the components of the computer system 1600. The graphics subsystem1630 includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1635 and graphics memory1640. The graphics memory 1640 includes a display memory (e.g., a framebuffer) used for storing pixel data for each pixel of an output image.The graphics memory 1640 can be integrated in the same device as the GPU1635, connected as a separate device with the GPU 1635, and/orimplemented within the memory 1610. Pixel data can be provided to thegraphics memory 1640 directly from the CPU 1605. Alternatively, the CPU1605 provides the GPU 1635 with data and/or instructions defining thedesired output images, from which the GPU 1635 generates the pixel dataof one or more output images. The data and/or instructions defining thedesired output images can be stored in the memory 1610 and/or graphicsmemory 1640. In an embodiment, the GPU 1635 includes 3D renderingcapabilities for generating pixel data for output images frominstructions and data defining the geometry, lighting, shading,texturing, motion, and/or camera parameters for a scene. The GPU 1635can further include one or more programmable execution units capable ofexecuting shader programs.

The graphics subsystem 1630 periodically outputs pixel data for an imagefrom the graphics memory 1640 to be displayed on the display device1650. The display device 1650 can be any device capable of displayingvisual information in response to a signal from the computer system1600, including CRT, LCD, plasma, and OLED displays. The computer system1600 can provide the display device 1650 with an analog or digitalsignal.

In accordance with various embodiments, the CPU 1605 is one or moregeneral-purpose microprocessors having one or more processing cores.Further embodiments can be implemented using one or more CPUs 1605 withmicroprocessor architectures specifically adapted for highly paralleland computationally intensive applications, such as media andinteractive entertainment applications.

The components of a system may be connected via a network, which may beany combination of the following: the Internet, an IP network, anintranet, a wide-area network (“WAN”), a local-area network (“LAN”), avirtual private network (“VPN”), the Public Switched Telephone Network(“PSTN”), or any other type of network supporting data communicationbetween devices described herein, in different embodiments. A networkmay include both wired and wireless connections, including opticallinks. Many other examples are possible and apparent to those skilled inthe art in light of this disclosure. In the discussion herein, a networkmay or may not be noted specifically.

In the foregoing specification, the invention is described withreference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the artwill recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, the invention can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

It should be noted that the methods, systems, and devices discussedabove are intended merely to be examples. It must be stressed thatvarious embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, it should be appreciated that,in alternative embodiments, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and that various steps may be added,omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to certainembodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Differentaspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similarmanner. Also, it should be emphasized that technology evolves and, thus,many of the elements are examples and should not be interpreted to limitthe scope of the invention.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. For example, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shownwithout unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flow diagram or block diagram. Although each maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional stepsnot included in the figure.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “memory” or “memory unit” mayrepresent one or more devices for storing data, including read-onlymemory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory,magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memorydevices, or other computer-readable mediums for storing information. Theterm “computer-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to,portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wirelesschannels, a sim card, other smart cards, and various other mediumscapable of storing, containing, or carrying instructions or data.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware,or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks may be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a storagemedium. Processors may perform the necessary tasks.

Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions,magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in thisspecification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, notexact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistentwith the functions to which they relate and with what is customary inthe art to which they pertain. “About” includes within a tolerance of±0.01%, ±0.1%, ±1%, ±2%, ±3%, ±4%, ±5%, ±8%, ±10%, ±15%, ±20%, ±25%, oras otherwise known in the art. “Substantially” refers to more than 76%,165%, 90%, 100%, 105%, 109%, 109.9% or, depending on the context withinwhich the term substantially appears, value otherwise as known in theart.

Having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those ofskill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of theinvention. For example, the above elements may merely be a component ofa larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over orotherwise modify the application of the invention. Also, a number ofsteps may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements areconsidered. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented by a computer system, themethod comprising: presenting, on a display communicatively coupled withthe computer system, video game content of a video game application to avideo game player; receiving, from an input device communicativelycoupled with the computer system, user input requesting a menu;presenting, on the display, the menu in a layer over at least a portionof the video game content, the menu comprising a plurality of windows,wherein: the plurality of windows are presented in a glanced state whileexecution of the video game application and the presentation of thevideo game content continue, the plurality of windows include anapplication window and a game window, the application window correspondsto an underlying application on the computer system other than the videogame application and is selected based on an interest level of the videogame player in the underlying application, the application windowpresents interactive content provided from the underlying application,and the game window corresponds to the video game application andpresents game content based on a current state of the executing videogame application; receiving, from the input device, a user interactionwith the application window; presenting, in the layer, the applicationwindow in a focused state based on the user interaction; presenting, inthe application window and while the application window is in thefocused state, one or more options to interact with the interactivecontent through the application window; receiving, from the inputdevice, a user selection of the application window while the applicationwindow is in the focused state; presenting, in the layer, theapplication window in a selected state based on the user selection ofthe application window; presenting, in the layer, an overlay windowcoextensive with and over the application window in the selected state,wherein the overlay window reproduces the application window in theselected state; receiving, from the input device, a user selection of atleast an option of the one or more options from the overlay window; andperforming, based on the user selection, an action on the interactivecontent while the overlay window is presented in the layer and while theexecution of the video game application and the presentation of thevideo game content continue.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the menufurther comprises a preset icon in a static area, wherein a userselection of the preset icon causes a presentation of the applicationwindow.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the glanced state correspondsto a first size of the application window, wherein the interactivecontent of the application window is presented in the application windowwhile in the glanced state, wherein the focused state has a second sizelarger than the first size and presents the interactive content and theone or more options to interact with the interactive content.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: receiving, from the input device,a user selection of the application window while the application windowis in the focused state; presenting, in the layer, the applicationwindow in a selected state based on the user selection of theapplication window; and presenting, in the layer, an option to performan action on the application window while the application window is inthe selected state.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the action on theapplication window comprises one of presenting the application window asa pinned window or an adjacent window to the video game content.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: logging out the video gameplayer; and upon a subsequent login of the video game player, presentingagain the menu in the layer, wherein context of the game window isupdated based on a change to the context of the video game applicationor the context of the video game player between logging out and thesubsequent login.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein: the underlyingapplication is selected from a list of applications ranked according toan interest level of the video game player in each application; theinterest level of the video game player in the underlying application isbased on an interest of the video game player in the interactive contentprovided from the underlying application; and the interactive contentprovided from the underlying application is specific to the video gameplayer.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisinginstructions that, upon execution on a computer system, cause thecomputer system to perform operations comprising: presenting, on adisplay communicatively coupled with the computer system, video gamecontent of a video game application to a video game player; receiving,from an input device communicatively coupled with the computer system,user input requesting a menu; presenting, on the display, the menu in alayer over at least a portion of the video game content, the menucomprising a plurality of windows wherein: the plurality of windows arepresented in a glanced state while execution of the video gameapplication and the presentation of the video game content continue, theplurality of windows include an application window and a game window,the application window corresponds to an underlying application on thecomputer system other than the video game application and is selectedbased on an interest level of the video game player in the underlyingapplication, the application window presents interactive contentprovided from the underlying application, and the game windowcorresponds to the video game application and presents game contentbased on a current state of the executing video game application;receiving, from the input device, a user interaction with theapplication window; presenting, in the layer, the application window ina focused state based on the user interaction; presenting, in theapplication window and while the application window is in the focusedstate, one or more options to interact with the interactive contentthrough the application window; receiving, from the input device, a userselection of the application window while the application window is inthe focused state; presenting, in the layer, the application window in aselected state based on the user selection of the application window;presenting, in the layer, an overlay window coextensive with and overthe application window in the selected state, wherein the overlay windowreproduces the application window in the selected state; receiving, fromthe input device, a user selection of at least an option of the one ormore options from the overlay window; and performing, based on the userselection, an action on the interactive content while the overlay windowis presented in the layer and while the execution of the video gameapplication and the presentation of the video game content continue. 9.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, whereinthe plurality of windows are presented in a dynamic area of the menu,wherein only one of the plurality of windows is presented in the focusedstate at a time while the remaining windows of the plurality of windowsare presented in the glanced state.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the menu furthercomprises a preset icon in a static area, and wherein a user selectionof the preset icon causes a presentation of the application window. 11.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, whereinthe glanced state corresponds to a first size of the application window,wherein the interactive content of the application window is presentedin the application window while in the glanced state, wherein thefocused state has a second size larger than the first size and presentsthe interactive content and the one or more options to interact with theinteractive content.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving,from the input device, a user selection of the application window whilethe application window is in the focused state; presenting, in thelayer, the application window in a selected state based on the userselection of the application window; and presenting, in the layer, anoption to perform an action on the application window while theapplication window is in the selected state.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the action on theapplication window comprises one of presenting the application window asa pinned window or an adjacent window to the video game content.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise: changing user control from the menu to thevideo game content; receiving second user input requesting the menu; andpresenting, based on the second user input, the windows of the menu inthe layer, wherein a window is presented in the focused state based onthe window being previously presented in a selected state.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise: logging out the video game player; and upona subsequent login of the video game player, presenting again the menuin the layer, wherein content of a window is updated based on a changeto a context of the video game application or a context of the videogame player between the logging out and the subsequent login.
 16. Acomputer system comprising: a processor; and a memory storingcomputer-readable instructions that, upon execution by the processor,cause the computer system to perform operations comprising: presenting,on a display communicatively coupled with the computer system, videogame content of a video game application to a video game player;receiving, from an input device communicatively coupled with thecomputer system, user input requesting a menu; presenting, on thedisplay, the menu in a layer over at least a portion of the video gamecontent, the menu comprising a plurality of windows, wherein: theplurality of windows are presented in a glanced state while execution ofthe video game application and the presentation of the video gamecontent continue, the plurality of windows include an application windowand a game window, the application window corresponds to an underlyingapplication on the computer system other than the video game applicationand is selected based on an interest level of the video game player inthe underlying application, the application window presents interactivecontent provided from the underlying application, and the game windowcorresponds to the video game application and presents game contentbased on a current state of the executing video game application,receiving, from the input device, a user interaction with theapplication window; presenting, in the layer, the application window ina focused state based on the user interaction; presenting, in theapplication window and while the application window is in the focusedstate, one or more options to interact with the interactive contentthrough the application window; receiving, from the input device, a userselection of the application window while the application window is inthe focused state; presenting, in the layer, the application window in aselected state based on the user selection of the application window;presenting, in the layer, an overlay window coextensive with and overthe application window in the selected state, wherein the overlay windowreproduces the application window in the selected state; receiving, fromthe input device, a user selection of at least an option of the one ormore options from the overlay window; and performing, based on the userselection, an action on the interactive content while the overlay windowis presented in the layer and while the execution of the video gameapplication and the presentation of the video game content continue. 17.The computer system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of windows arepresented in a dynamic area of the menu, wherein only one of theplurality of windows is presented in the focused state at a time whileremaining windows of the plurality of windows are presented in theglanced state.
 18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the menufurther comprises a preset icon in a static area, where a user selectionof the preset icon causes a presentation of the application window. 19.The computer system of claim 16, wherein the glanced state correspondsto a first size of the application window, wherein the interactivecontent of the application window is presented in the application windowwhile in the glanced state, wherein the focused state has a second sizelarger than the first size and presents the interactive content and theone or more options to interact with the interactive content.